Author: MARINA ALZOKARI

How does the poet bear witness to tragedy or more difficult aspects of human life? 

In “The Diameter of the bomb” Yehuda Amichai explained the specific tragedy that has happened and he was present there. At the beginning of the poem, he mentioned how far and how it affected people by using numbers to make us see a clear picture of that moment. He also mentioned specific numbers of dead and wounded people to let us know that this was a hard life for many people because they were losing people from their families. He also mentioned a woman who was buried in her city. In this part of the poem he wants us to see that Instead of feeling safe and protected in their city. They are buried one after another in their own city because of these tragedies. At the end of the poem, he mentions the crying of the orphans. Where he said, “ And I won’t even mention the crying of orphans that reaches up to the throne of God and beyond”. Here, he describes the pain that the orphans were feeling, a feeling of knowing that they would not be able to see their parents anymore. He ended by saying “ no end no god” which means that this tragedy was causing a lot of pain to people to the point that made people feel that it will never be an end to this tragedy and there is no god to make it end. 

The poem “ When you are old” refers to the woman that William Butler Yeats loved. In the poem, he describes his unconditionally love to her. He is telling her that even though she has grown and her hair has become grey. His love for her still the same, because when he loved her was not just because of her beauty but for her soul. In the middle of the poem, he mentioned that many other men also were in love with her but were only for her beauty when she was young. He is trying to show her the difference between the way he loved her and the way others loved her. The purpose of this poem is to show her that no matter how much she changes or grows his love for her will always grow more and he will be there for her. 

How does Joyce change your expectations as a reader throughout the story? e.g. your idea of what the story is about and what kind of story you are reading might have changed at a few points throughout the story.

When I started reading the story “ The Dead” I thought that Gabrial and his wife were going to visit his aunts, and it sounds as if it was a family visit. it states that “On the sideboard were arrayed dishes and plates, and glasses and bundles of knives and forks and spoons. The top of the closed square piano served also as a sideboard for viands and sweets. At a smaller sideboard in one corner two young men were standing, drinking hop-bitters”. However, this changed the way I thought about the story it is not just a family visit but it is a party and there are more characters at the party. I also thought that Gretta loved her husband and the fact that she was with him at the party made me think that they are together and they love each other. By the end of the story, I changed the way I thought about their relationship. When Gretta starts telling Gabrial about Michael it makes me think as a reader that she is with Gabrial but she also thinks about Michael the whole time, because of one song she could not hold herself and she cried. That made me realized that she still wishes if Michael was still alive even though she’s with Gabrial. Throughout the story my expectations kept changing but also these changes explained more about these characters. 

what does Wharton want us to consider the ways in which we do or do not know certain people in our lives? E.g. friends, lovers, and family.

While I was reading the story it made me realize that Wharton it’s giving us a message. A message that tells me the more we hide what we want things to be the more it can lead to the worst situation. For example in the story, In the beginning, Alida and Grace were not honest they try to solve things out by the way they thought it should be. As they are sitting and telling each other things that they should have done it was a moment of regret. They were afraid of losing the friendship but they didn’t realize that they lost it the moment they started lying to each other. To hold onto relationships whether it is friend, lover, or family we should be honest no matter what because regret can not fix a broken relationship.

What do you make of the fact that we learn a great deal about Gretta’s youth at the end of the story? How does this change your view of Gretta and her relationship with Gabriel?

When I started reading the story I thought Gretta and Gabrial were in love with each other. However, by the end of the story, I realized that she seems as if she was with Gabrial all this time so she could forget her past memorize. When she started telling Gabrial about Michael Furey while crying it means that she still has feelings for Micheal and that’s what made Gabrial sad. It made me think as a reader if Micheal was still alive she will leave Gabrial and go to Micheal. While Gretta was telling Gabrial about Micheal he tries to hold himself and not do anything that will make her sad. That tells a lot about that Gabrial is trying to not lose Gretta, he still wants to give a chance for Gretta to make their relationships better. 

How is his work a commentary on the mores, religious temperament, and society in which he lived in late eighteenth-century England? What aspects of this commentary are still relevant today?

Blake was not satisfied with all things that were going on around him, by writing these poems he was able to express how he felt. In his poem “the Gate of Paradise” he describes how even people see injustice and don’t say anything about it. Where, in his poem “London” he mentions that when he was walking near the Thames, he saw people with sadness and fear. Even, soldiers are been treated tough by their kings. In his poem “ The Chimney Sweeper” he was more specific in describing how children are been punished by child labor. For example, children were not able to cry, instead, they were saying the word “weep weep” to describe how they were feeling while sweeping in the Chimney. Blake was mad because no one from the society wanted to fix this, everyone was fine seeing children work. What made it more difficult is that children were smiling and happy even though they were living a different life from which they should have lived, they never complained about it. Blake opinions still relevant today because there are still children around the world works. People with powers or society are okay with a child working instead of attending school.